Running with Intention

If you have ever been to a yoga class, you have heard the teacher instructing you to set an intention for your practice. Even if you have not been to yoga, I think it is an important lesson in all aspects of your life including running. Setting an intention in running means to bring to awareness the point of the workout. If you are aware of the purpose of the workout, then execution of the purpose becomes simple. Running, although complex physiologically, is very simple mentally when the purpose is known and executed. Setting an intention before the workout allows you to let go of result driven anxiety. In short, it keeps you from what in the running world is sometimes called "pressing." Trying to "press" or force through a workout can lead to injury and burnout. I do not want to confuse "pressing" with hard work. Pushing the limits of our ability is what makes us better, but forcing ourselves through unreasonable and unintentional workouts leads to injury and overall dissatisfaction with our sport. That line between forcing and hard work is where awareness and setting intention become so important.

I'll share a personal story about setting intention. Running Division I cross country and track can often become a rat race. The idea of more and faster is better can become your mantra easily. It became my mantra. I "pressed" every run and workout thinking that the more I did and the harder I did it the better I would be. Second semester of my freshman year we recruited a new distance runner to be on our team, Katie Van Horn. When she first started, she could not keep up with us on our "easy" days. She would simply run her pace off the back of the pack without forcing herself to keep up. While I continued to "press" and develop injuries left and right, she methodically got into fantastic shape. What we all started to learn about Katie, is that she got it. She understood setting an intention. She was given a task and she executed it because of her awareness and intention. Soon, we started to catch on and we stopped "pressing". She elevated everyone's workout with her ability to be intentional about what she was doing. Katie introduced us to a calm confidence that really transformed the team's and my own running mantra.

Moral of the story is run with intention. Know why you are doing what you are doing and bring it to mind before you take a step. The run will be more rewarding physically and mentally.